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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010
Volume 9 Issue 76
Santa Monica Daily Press TEACHING TOTS TO PAINT SEE PAGE 7
We have you covered
THE SO LONG SANTA MONICA ISSUE
School year to be cut by 5 days BY NICK TABOREK Daily Press Staff Writer
SMMUSD HDQTRS California’s budget crisis means summer break will likely be coming early for students in the Santa MonicaMalibu Unified School District. The school district has reached tentative labor agreements with its teachers and other employees that include five furlough days this year and next year. If given final approval, the school year would be shortened by five days. The furloughs will save SMMUSD about $2 million per year, cutting into its $14 million projected deficit. The proposed agreements still need to be ratified by the unions that represent district teachers and employees. “We’re most appreciative of everybody stepping up and really offsetting a portion of this deficit,” Superintendent Tim Cuneo said, though he noted layoffs and program cuts will still be required to close the district’s budget gap. “The board understands that reaching a tentative agreement with our employees that reduces their salaries through furloughs is a major sacrifice,” School board President Barry Snell said in a press release. “Our employees have shown that they understand our district’s dilemma and this tentative agreement is an example of their willingness to do their part.” Under the proposed deal the district will continue to pay 100 percent of health care costs for district employees and their families. Administrators, including the district’s top personnel, also are taking pay cuts. Cuneo said he will be giving up about $11,000 each year by foregoing the equivalent of six days’ pay and about $5,000 in other benefits. He also said last year he didn’t seek the 10 percent bonus he’s entitled to and won’t ask for it this year or next year. The reduction to his $220,000 salary, he said, doesn’t mean he’ll be working fewer days. Other top managers also are giving up six days’ pay this year and next year. Mike Matthews, assistant superintendent for human resources, said the salary reductions are equivalent to nearly 3 percent pay cuts across the board. Also included in the tentative labor agreeSEE FURLOUGHS PAGE 9
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ALL NIGHT LONG: The City Council is expected tonight to allow people to park overnight in South Beach Lots 4 and 5 as part of the Los Angeles Marathon festivities. Those looking to park there can do so for one night for $17. The marathon is scheduled for March 21.
City Hall to pay for integrating Expo BY NICK TABOREK Daily Press Staff Writer
Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the City Council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.
CITY HALL It’s expected to be five years before Expo light rail cars are traveling down Colorado Avenue as part of system linking Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles. But City Hall is already starting on plans to reorganize the street around the future rail line. Tonight, the City Council will be asked to approve $368,000 for preliminary plans to integrate the light rail project into the existing infrastructure. The funding would pay for a consultant, Cityworks Design, to create a design for
Colorado Avenue that is in-line with City Hall’s vision of an attractive and userfriendly streetscape. Under the contract Cityworks Design would be charged with deciding where to put parking lots, how to best accommodate pedestrians and the disabled once the rail line is built, and how to relocate utilities equipment that is displaced by the rail. City Hall received 22 bids for the contract and interviewed seven firms before deciding to recommend Cityworks for the job. The proposed contract is part of a nearly $600,000 spending package the council is expected to approve tonight. The council is also being asked to sign off on a plan to demolish the building located at 1324 5th St. that once served as the interim library but has been vacant since 2005. The building is in “an extreme state of deterioration and has a toxic interior environment consisting of asbestos, lead, mercury and dangerous levels of molds and
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fungus,” according to a city staff report. The toxins must be abated before the building contents may be removed and the structure can be demolished, the report said. City staff recommends awarding the $231,000 contract to knock down the structure and resurface the 7,500 square-foot area as a parking lot to AMPCO Contracting. The council is also expected to approve a parking arrangement Tuesday night aimed at better accommodating the 25,000 runners who are expected to participate in the Los Angeles Marathon this year. The race, to be held March 21, has been re-routed to conclude at the Santa Monica Pier for the first time. The proposed resolution on Tuesday’s agenda would allow 5,000 cars to park overnight on March 20 in South Beach Lots 4 and 5. The estimated cost of keeping the lots open overnight is expected to be offset by charging $17 for the privilege to park there, a City Hall report said. nickt@smdp.com
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